CU Buffs women's basketball team improves to 9-0

Seabrook stars in rout of Weber State

Julie Seabrook of Colorado turns to shoot on Weber State on Saturday.
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CLIFF GRASSMICK
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During the past month, the Colorado women's basketball team has grown quite comfortable at home.

Now it's time to hit the road, but not before the Buffs finished off a six-game home stand with a 77-59 rout of Weber State at Coors Events Center on Saturday.

"We wanted to make sure we played solid at home (on Saturday)," head coach Linda Lappe said. "We wanted to have a lot of fun and we always want to make sure we protect our home floor. We've played well at home about every game, so it was important for us to come out and make a stand and really end the non-conference portion of our season at home well."

CU improved to 9-0 on the season, its best start since beginning 15-0 in 1992-93. The Buffs are also 7-0 at home. With Saturday's win, the Buffs completed their first 6-0 home stand since early in the 1982-83 season. Just like this time, that 6-0 home stand 19 years ago concluded with a win against Weber State.

"We really look to defend our home court," senior Julie Seabrook said. "This is our gym and we don't want anyone to come in here and think they can beat us."

Seabrook posted the third double-double of her career, notching 12 points and 10 rebounds. Chucky Jeffery led the team with 17 points, while sisters Ashley and Brittany Wilson added 13 apiece for CU.

"The team was really balanced and whoever is open, that's who we're hitting," said Brittany Wilson, who had her best scoring night since the season opener on Nov. 11.

Despite slow starts to begin each half, the Buffs rolled past the Wildcats (2-10), who are coached by former CU assistant Bethann Ord.

Weber State got out to a 6-2 lead -- the largest deficit for CU all season -- but the Buffs responded with a 19-2 run to pull away. They led by 20 at halftime.

"Our first half probably was our best half in terms of execution offensively," Lappe said.

A pair of Seabrook buckets early in the second half stretched the lead to 22 points, but Weber State cut the deficit to 12 a couple of times in the half.

The Wildcats kept the game somewhat within reach by draining 11 3-pointers.

"That wasn't anything we really emphasized before, but my team is a pretty good shooting team and we have a lot of sharp shooters," Ord said.

Weber State has hurt teams at times this season with its post players aggressively driving the lane. It didn't help the Wildcats that 6-foot-2 center Mikell Woodfield was injured 3 minutes in and didn't return.

"When you lose your best player in the first 5 minutes of the game, other players have to step up and that's exactly what our team did," Ord said.

Woodfield's absence and CU's aggressiveness turned out to be a good combination for CU. The Buffs outscored the Wildcats 52-12 in the paint.

"I'm just glad that we got it in the paint," Seabrook said. "That was one of our goals for today."

The other goal, of course, was to continue the success at home. Now the Buffs will head out for a two-game tournament in San Antonio on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"I felt like this win was good," Brittany Wilson said. "I feel like to get these games (at home) underneath our feet and give us our confidence, we really needed it."

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